WASHINGTON, D.C, Dec. 7, 2015Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention denounced Donald Trumps statement to close the U.S. border to all Muslims in a “blog”:http://www.russellmoore.com/2015/12/07/is-donald-trump-right-about-closing-the-border-to-muslims/ today calling it reckless, demagogic rhetoric and a threat to religious liberty.
Moore wrote the following in a blog post:
Anyone who cares an iota about religious liberty should denounce this reckless, demagogic rhetoric.
The United States government should fight, and fight hard, against radical Islamic jihadism. The government should close the borders to anyone suspected of even a passing involvement with any radical cell or terrorist network. But the government should not penalize law-abiding people, especially those who are American citizens, for holding their religious convictions.
Make no mistake. A government that can shut down mosques simply because they are mosques can shut down Bible studies because they are Bible studies. A government that can close the borders to all Muslims simply on the basis of their religious belief can do the same thing for evangelical Christians. A government that issues ID badges for Muslims simply because they are Muslims can, in the fullness of time, demand the same for Christians because we are Christians.
We must never lose in a time of war precious freedoms purchased through the blood of patriots in years past. We must have security and we must have order. But we must not trade soul freedom for an illusion of winning.
Moores complete comments can be found “online”:http://www.russellmoore.com/2015/12/07/is-donald-trump-right-about-closing-the-border-to-muslims/.
The Southern Baptist Convention is Americas largest Protestant denomination with more than 15.8 million members in over 46,000 churches nationwide. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission is the SBCs ethics, religious liberty and public policy agency with offices in Nashville, Tenn., and Washington, D.C.
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